Back to the past
by Clem Marchal
Summary: Set somewhere during season 2: Rick takes Kate on trip to France. Between high-risk sports and a trip back to the eighties, how will their relationship evolve ? Caskett AU. Rated T for now just to be safe.


She had no idea what he had planned for her when he had insisted on taking her away for the weekend. The case they had just wrapped up had been a hard one, and what she really wanted to do was to go home and just chill. Montgomery had given her four days, and she really needed the time off but when Castle had looked at her with those big, blue puppy eyes of his she just couldn't resist, so she gave in. She should've bailed on him, though, when he had told her to take her passport with her and wear comfy clothes to leave, but for some reason she didn't. She had followed his instructions word by word, had gotten into the passenger seat of his Ferrari without complaining, had followed him through the airport and into the plane without asking any question.

And now here she was, in Southern France, next to a village called La-colle-sur-loup, in a canyon, equipped for a day of canyoning in a river called Le loup. She had never done canyoning before, and after hearing what their guide had said, she was scared to death. Castle, who had done canyoning before in Canada, was trying to soothe and reassure her by telling her that she would be fine, that she would love it and that she would find it fun, but it wasn't working at all, the guide's words still echoing in her head as she descended under the bridge and got into the cold water, a light morning breeze making her shiver. Or was it anxiety ? "You can do it", she thought as she watched the six other people in their group rappeling down the first slope rather easily. "I'll be right behind you," she heard Rick say as she hopped on the stone before the slope. "Thanks," she whispered. The guide looked at her for moment, then said:  
"_ You seem a little bit tense, maybe you should slide down this one: it's easier, quicker, and there's enough water for you not to get hurt.  
_ Yeah, that sounds less... scary," she answered.

The guide attached her to the rope he had set for the visitors and she went down the slope, slowly at first, then going faster as she got more confident. She landed in the water again and went aside to wait as Rick was going down the slope, quickly followed by the guide.

The trip went on pretty well for everybody until they reached the first natural slide. According to the guide, it was pretty easy to slide down it, and as Kate watched the others slide it down one after the other, she thought "This is gonna be easier than the first two slopes." so when Rick asked if she wanted him to stay behind her she said that she would be fine if he went down before she did, and he obeyed. When her turn came, she followed the guide's instructions and laid on her back, her arms crossed over her chest, only she hadn't anticipated the speed, and she got up by reflex and fell headlong. She was about to hit a rock but Castle caught her just in time. She struggled for several minutes to find her breath and calm down her heartbeat before looking up at Castle's face. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before being brought back to reality by the guide, who reminded them of the safety instructions he had given them only minutes ago, and the two of them nodded, Kate's cheeks getting redder by the second as she thought of the humiliation she had just put herself through.

Kate was not sure whether she wanted to continue the trip or not but there was no other way out so she simply followed the others, holding on tightly to Castle. The rest of the trip went on surprisingly well, and Kate even managed to jump the highest level 2 cliff, which stood 7 meters above the water. As they headed back home, after having given back their equipment and put on their clothes, Castle and Beckett talked about their favorite moments and what they regretted most, Castle even admitting to regretting not having stood up on the first slide like she did.

When they arrived at their rental home, a small villa right above the Loup with a garden and a pool situated a few meters down the canyoning center, Castle told Kate to prepare her luggage.  
"_ What for ? We just arrived this morning.  
_ I rented this house for one night only. Tomorrow, we're taking a plane to Paris.  
_ Won't we get to visit the village ?  
_ I have a table reserved for us at L'Atelier des Saveurs Francis Scordel in La-colle-sur-loup tonight, and we can visit Tourrettes-sur-loup, Gourdon, Biot, Nice and Cannes tomorrow if we get up early.  
_ At what time is our plane ?  
_ It's at 4pm at the airport of Cannes but we need to be at the airport at 2 so I suggest we get up at 6, visit the cities until 2 and we'll eat once we're there, what do you say ?  
_ Sounds great ! Thank you so much for taking me on this trip, I really needed to get away from everything.  
_ Always." He said with a smile.  
"_ Always." She replied, smiling back at him. 


End file.
